(Photo: Courtesy Random House Publishing)

Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money and God (2002)

Written with Russell Simmons‘ long time friend Nelson George, Life and Def is a look at hip hop’s first mogul. From the launch of Def Jam Records in his college dorm room to his clothing line Phat Farm and his venture into film and TV production with the hit HBO series Def Comedy Jam, Simmons has met success at nearly every corner. He chronicles his relentless pursuit of the American dream. Hilarious, inspiring and insightful, Simmons holds nothing back on his battle whether it be about his drug addiction, his love of models, his relationships with everyone from Donald Trump, his ex-wife Kimora Lee to the Dalai Lama. For a trip into hip hop’s history narrated by one of its architects, this book is the ticket.

(Photo: Courtesy It Books Publishing)

E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX (2003)

A stirring and dark tale of a troubled young man born into a harsh living situation and environment. His passionate and poetic lyrics and his emotional stage shows are dictated by the severe peaks and valleys of DMX’s life. From his early life of crime, stints in a boys’ home and juvenile detention centers and jail and his introduction to crack cocaine, which would plague him forever, DMX shows how all the pain in his life fed his music. Released before X’s most recent jail stint, with former Giant magazine Editor-in-Chief Smokey D. Fontaine, there’s more stories to be told. And hopefully with a comeback on the horizon, this tale will have a happy ending.

(Photo: Courtesy Touchstone Publishing)

My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy (2011)

Part prison memoir, part-biography, tracing how a young man whose life started out with much promise and privilege turned to a life of crime and drugs after moving into the Queensbridge Housing projects after a family tragedy. Prodigy of Mobb Deep tells a story that is brash, cocky, heavy in the streets and filled with pain and triumph as he battles sickle cell anemia, other emcees and record companies all while trying to make music and provide for his family. This book is a great glimpse at hip hop in the 1990s and includes personal anecdotes and encounters with all of hip hop’s icons including Jay-Z, Tupac, 50 Cent and more.

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